David Chance and the Sorceress' Cult
by JustASmallTownGeek
Summary: A brand new demigod joins the fold, and just in time for the summer. But when this particular demigod's godly father fails to claim him, David Chance must embark on an epic journey with new friends to discover both his lineage, and who he really is. Oh, and interrupt a plot to enslave a goddess and absorb her power.


Chapter 1: Introducing…

Look, I never asked to be a demigod.

When I first heard about them, I thought it sounded pretty cool. I mean, half-human, half-god superheroes? Who wouldn't want to be one? Then, I found out the answer: demigods. Demigods are the only people who don't want to be demigods. I found out from experience.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. In order to understand how I reached the conclusion that being the son of a god sucks, I should probably start from the beginning. Back to when fighting monsters seemed like paradise compared to school. Back when it was all a fantasy.

Back to when I thought I was human.

My name is David Chance. I'm twelve years old, just finished eighth grade. I mean, literally just finished it. I've only just walked out the door with my best friend, Kyle. The two of us went to this school for 'troubled and difficult' kids called Yancy Academy. I say went because a couple of weeks ago, I got told that I 'would not be invited back to Yancy Academy for future studying prospects'. Not that I'm overly upset. It's not like I was ever actually that good there. I mean, dyslexia can seriously screw up your capabilities. Still, it's a pretty big deal to get kicked out of a school specifically for kids who get kicked out of schools, But the thing was, it was never really me that did the thing. Well, that's what I believe. Everyone else just says that the ADHD is screwing with my brain.

It's actually been worse this year than ever before. I mean, some weird stuff has happened in the past, but this year takes the cake. Like in first term, when we had a substitute teacher for a day. Everyone says I was imagining it, but I swear that guy had a tail. And the time there was a group of demonic dogs that everyone said were just strays. Then again, I was on a trial run for a new medicine for ADHD. Everyone said there must have been a hallucinogen in there. I almost started to believe them. Almost.

But that's all over now. It's time to stop thinking about school, and start thinking about the holidays. Kyle had called his parents and they'd said it's alright for him to stay at my place for a few weeks. I hadn't bothered to call my parents. Partly because my dad had disappeared before I was born, and partly because my mom was…well, we'll get to that later.

Kyle has been my best friend since I started at Yancy. Not that he couldn't get better friends if he tried, he just… didn't. But hey, it's not like I'm complaining. One friend is better than no friends at all, and trust me, I've been there before.

Kyle is an interesting kind of guy. For one thing, he ate everything but meat. Literally, anything. His excuse for not handing in his homework once was "I ate it". For another, he had some sort of leg condition that meant he couldn't run at all. He could walk fine, but anything faster and he started doing a kind of pained skip that eventually stopped him running altogether.

The two of us catch a bus from Yancy to Central Park, not far from where I live. It's a pretty small apartment, right behind the Metropolitan Museum of Art, but it's my home whenever I'm not at school. Technically, it's my mother's apartment, but it's not like she's ever around enough to claim ownership of it.

"Finally," Kyle announces dramatically as we reach the front door. "After nearly a year of infiltrating your inner circle, gaining your trust, finally…I shall enter the fabled Casa De Chance! Months of research, stakeouts, and sharing my pizza…all for this one, final moment!"

I give him a look over my shoulder, pushing the key into the lock. "Anyone ever tell you you're a bit weird?"

"They never really stop," he grins back, shoving me lightly.

I laugh, twisting the knob and pushing through the doorway, stepping back to let Kyle through once I'm inside. "Enter the castle at your own risk," I chuckle. "Here be monsters!"

"Yeah, well, hopefully they stay away until we can get out of here," Kyle mutters, seemingly to himself. He stepped through the doorway, looking around at the cramped, empty hallway. "Wow. Great job on the decoration," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

I punch him lightly on the shoulder, heading down the hall and towards the kitchen. "Hey, you thirsty?" I ask, opening the fridge. "Whoops, nevermind. Only one soda left," I grin, grabbing it and straightening up.

"Nah, wasn't really thirsty anyway," Kyle said, sitting down on one of the chairs on the opposite side of the kitchen bench. "Look, I…I kinda have to talk to you about something."

I frown, popping the tab on the soda. "Uh oh, serious voice. What's up?" I ask, sitting opposite him and taking a sip.

He frowned back. "Don't joke about this. It's serious. People can die, and they have."

I move my chair back a bit. "Dude, you're starting to scare me."

"Good," he said, leaning forwards. "Because this is serious, and you need to hear it before anything gets here."

"Anything? Wait… any _thing?_ " I frowned, leaning forwards again, my elbows on the table. "What do you mean, anything?"

Kyle took a deep breath, leaning back against his seat. "The demonic dogs a few months back. The big guy with one eye…"

"The teacher with a tail!" I interrupted, standing up. "So I was right! Doctor Santimore can suck it!"

"Yep, him too," Kyle said.

"So...what's it all about? And how do you know about it?" I asked, sitting back down.

"Well, that's what you need to know. It's all because of you. Of who you are." Kyle paused for a second."Who your parents are."

I stared at him. "I only see my mother about once a week when I'm home. My father disappeared before I was born. What the Hades do they have to do with anything?"

"What the Hades? Interesting choice of words," Kyle commented, raising an eyebrow.

I stared at him for a moment. "Alright, you are officially making no sense," I told him.

Kyle blew out a breath, and for a second he seemed older than the thirteen-year-old I knew him to be.

"Alright," he started. "What I'm about to tell you will explain a lot. But it's also gonna put you in a lot more danger. To be perfectly honest, not many get out alive... but you need to know."

Staring at him, my usually cheerful-to-the-point-of-annoying friend, I felt a rush of fear.

Kyle straightened his back in the chair, staring me straight in the eye. "You are - "

Something crashed into the door. Kyle stood and turned in one movement, standing as if ready to fight, but his eyes were alive with panic. He sniffed the air.

"That's not possible," he said, breathing heavily, obviously terrified. "They can't be... I should have..."

Another crash sounded out as David followed his lead, standing up. He saw the door bulge under the impact.

"What the hell is going on?" David asked, louder than he normally would have. Kyle moved out into the hall, standing a few meters from the cracking door.

Another crash, and splinters flew.

"Stay back," Kyle warned, his hand reaching behind and under his hoodie. "I'll fight them. You see an opening, run for it."

"Run for... what is going on?"

The door buckled as something crashed and crashed again, and David swore he heard snarling. Two of them, he guessed.

Kyle withdrew his hand, and David saw a gleam of bronze.

"When the Hades did you get a dagger?" David asked loudly, astonished.

Kyle turned to reply, right as the door exploded inwards with a final crash. Cracked and smashed, it flew through the hallway and collided with Kyle, sending him crashing into the wall.

A massive dog, the size of a horse, stepped into the room, hackles raised and snarling. A second followed, both prowling around to the limp form of Kyle and the wrecked door.

Something touched his foot, and David flinched. Looking down, he saw the dagger, a thirteen-inch blade of glowing bronze resting at his feet. Without thinking, he scooped it up and faced the hounds again.

They were facing him now, snarling at him, one almost guarding Kyle as the other stalked closer. David felt that rush of fear again... and something else. Something more.

The lead hellhound bent it's legs, and David knew it was going to jump. It leapt into the air, higher than any dog should have, and David raised the dagger, plunging it using the dog's own weight into it's heart. The hound exploded into dust around him.

Choking and blinded by the dust, David didn't see the second hound until it was almost too late. It leapt at him, abandoning Kyle, and sank it's teeth into his left arm as he threw it up to defend himself. David let out a yell, but barely felt the pain. He spun the dagger around in his hand, raising it high and plunging it into the skull of the second beast. It too dissolved into dust.

David fell back, leaning against the wall for support, before sliding down to the ground. The dagger dropped to the floor as he surveyed to room. The door had exploded across the hall, there were scratches on the floor from the beasts claws, a heavy layer of sand, or thick dust lay over the floor, and Kyle was unconscious, sitting against the floor like David was. A thin trail of blood pooled from David's arm, soaking his sleeve and falling to the floor.

A groan reached his ears, and David looked back up to see Kyle sitting up. He pushed the fragments of the door off himself and stood up, taking in the sight of the apartment and spotting David, holding the dagger still.

David motioned around the room with the dagger. "How about the new decorations?" he asked, grinning tiredly.

Kyle tilted his head thoughtfully, looking around. "Better," he commented.

David grinned at him, a few seconds before darkness overtook his vision and he blacked out.


End file.
